BangkokPost.com, Agencies
Several thousand protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy gathered at the foreign ministry on Wednesday to accuse minister Noppadon Pattama and his old boss Thaksin Shinawatra with yielding land around the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia.
An estimated 5,000 PAD protesters gathered in front of the ministry. They accused Mr Noppadon of trading the temple land for business concessions, and carried signs blaming Mr Thaksin.
The Preah Vihear temple, dating back to the 11th century, has been the subject of a boundary dispute since the 1950s. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the cliffside temple was within Cambodian territory.
Accusing the government of corruption and abuse of power, demonstrators have been holding sometimes violent protests since May 25 to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his coalition government.
The protesters say Mr Samak is merely acting as a proxy for Mr Thaksin.
The political discord heightened Wednesday after opposition Democrat Party lawmakers lodged a no-confidence motion against Mr Samak and seven other Cabinet members over alleged conflict of interest and mismanagement.
The Preah Vihear temple issue resurfaced as Cambodia was preparing to apply to Unesco for the temple to be listed as a World Heritage Site, a process that requires the inclusion of a map.
PAD core founder Sondhi Limthongkul alleged that Mr Noppadon gave up some territory near the temple in exchange for his "boss" - Mr Thaksin - getting concessions to develop a casino complex on Cambodia's Koh Kong island.
Mr Noppadon served as Mr Thaksin's lawyer and continues to have close ties with him.
Waving Thai flags, the protesters held up placards reading, "Thailand is not for sale", and "Bandit government sold Thai soil to Cambodia." Mr Noppadon denied the allegations.
"The minister of foreign affairs deserves flowers instead of brickbats," Mr Noppadon said, adding that "not a single square centimetre" of Thai soil was lost during recent negotiations with Cambodia.
He said Cambodia had drawn up two maps, one of the temple and the other of the adjacent area.
Mr Noppadon said the Cambodians will present only the temple map in their upcoming request to Unesco. The second map, which includes the disputed boundary, will not be an issue and thus Thailand has not yielded any territory, he said.
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Several thousand protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy gathered at the foreign ministry on Wednesday to accuse minister Noppadon Pattama and his old boss Thaksin Shinawatra with yielding land around the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia.
An estimated 5,000 PAD protesters gathered in front of the ministry. They accused Mr Noppadon of trading the temple land for business concessions, and carried signs blaming Mr Thaksin.
The Preah Vihear temple, dating back to the 11th century, has been the subject of a boundary dispute since the 1950s. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the cliffside temple was within Cambodian territory.
Accusing the government of corruption and abuse of power, demonstrators have been holding sometimes violent protests since May 25 to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his coalition government.
The protesters say Mr Samak is merely acting as a proxy for Mr Thaksin.
The political discord heightened Wednesday after opposition Democrat Party lawmakers lodged a no-confidence motion against Mr Samak and seven other Cabinet members over alleged conflict of interest and mismanagement.
The Preah Vihear temple issue resurfaced as Cambodia was preparing to apply to Unesco for the temple to be listed as a World Heritage Site, a process that requires the inclusion of a map.
PAD core founder Sondhi Limthongkul alleged that Mr Noppadon gave up some territory near the temple in exchange for his "boss" - Mr Thaksin - getting concessions to develop a casino complex on Cambodia's Koh Kong island.
Mr Noppadon served as Mr Thaksin's lawyer and continues to have close ties with him.
Waving Thai flags, the protesters held up placards reading, "Thailand is not for sale", and "Bandit government sold Thai soil to Cambodia." Mr Noppadon denied the allegations.
"The minister of foreign affairs deserves flowers instead of brickbats," Mr Noppadon said, adding that "not a single square centimetre" of Thai soil was lost during recent negotiations with Cambodia.
He said Cambodia had drawn up two maps, one of the temple and the other of the adjacent area.
Mr Noppadon said the Cambodians will present only the temple map in their upcoming request to Unesco. The second map, which includes the disputed boundary, will not be an issue and thus Thailand has not yielded any territory, he said.
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